Urban Chroniclers in Modern Latin America

Cover

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Title Page, Copyright, Dedication

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Contents

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pp. vii-

Abbreviations

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pp. ix-x

Acknowledgments

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pp. xi-

This project was, for many years, an important part of my everyday life—too much so, some of those who lived it with me might say. But it was also a process that I was lucky enough to share with many people along the way. The constant advice and encouragement...

Introduction

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pp. 1-11

A somewhat unstructured genre that combines literary aestheticism with journalistic form, the Latin American crónica, or chronicle, has been surprisingly successful in recent years at consolidating critical recognition with popular appeal. Since the 1970s and 1980s, many of Latin America’s most prominent intellectuals have devoted themselves...

Chapter 1. Cities, Publics, and Urban Chroniclers in Latin America: 1920s–1930s

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pp. 12-31

A young man, recently returned to his city after a serious illness, walks through the streets for the first time since his recovery. He observes his surroundings with a mixture of surprise and recognition, as if...

Chapter 2. A Common Citizen Writes Buenos Aires: Roberto Arlt’s Aguafuertes porteñas

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pp. 32-63

Roberto Arlt did not consider himself an academic. Instead, he called himself a man of the streets, of neighborhoods and cafés, just another citizen among the many who lived Buenos Aires during the 1920’s. In his numerous years as a chronicler, Arlt put this boast...

Chapter 3. Taking Readers for a Ride: Mário de Andrade’s Táxi

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pp. 64-92

When reflecting on his work as a chronicler, Mário de Andrade often expressed himself disparagingly. In the letter to Manuel Bandeira quoted above, he dismisses his column Táxi as an uninteresting exercise that permits him to earn an income...

Chapter 4. The Chronicler as Streetwalker: Salvador Novo Performs Genre

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pp. 93-125

In "Bathing Motifs," one of the first articles Salvador Novo published in the weekly magazine El Universal Ilustrado, the nineteen-year-old author dwells on the pleasures of bathing in the river or sea, discusses the urban experience of the public bath, and wittily teases his readers...

Chapter 5. Overstepping Femininity: The Chronicle and Gender Norms

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pp. 126-159

Latin American cities in the 1920s were buzzing with conversations on modernity. New technologies and the effects of urban growth might have been the main topics of the day, but other, more intimate changes were also at stake. Some of the most pressing....

Afterword

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pp. 160-168

On June 19, 2010, Carlos Monsiváis passed away in Mexico City after a long fight with pulmonary fibrosis. Although he had been ill for many months, his death caused a collective shock in Mexico. A multitude of heartfelt testimonies...

Appendices: Five Chronicles in Translation, translated by Jacinto R. Fombona

Notes

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pp. 186-209

Bibliography

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pp. 210-220

Index

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pp. 221-234